The Nome Common Council on Monday adopted a resolution to authorize City Manager Glenn Steckman to use up to $200,000 to repair the Nome Recreation Center boiler.
According to Steckman, while the original plan was to replace the boiler, timing removed that option from the table.
“The chance of getting a new boiler up here at the very earliest would be six months.”
– Glenn Steckman, City Manager
City Building Inspector David Barron, who attended the meeting, discussed strategies for repairing the boiler with the Council, emphasizing the anticipated labor costs.
While repairs should enable the boiler to last through this winter, Steckman expects that the Rec Center will need a new boiler next year.
“Now we’re looking at trying to get the thing fixed, make sure it can stay functional, especially through the winter, and then have something go out to bid late this winter for new installation in the spring.”
– Glenn Steckman
In other business, Ken Morton, Assistant Manager at Nome Joint Utility System (NJUS), said in his report that he expects the cost of power generation for the city as a whole to increase by about $59,000 for the month of July. That increase is a result of the state legislature not funding the power cost equalization program. According to Morton, approximately $44,000 of the increase comes from residential power costs, with the other $15,000 coming from city costs.
Morton also reported that NJUS has completed the work that necessitated the planned power outages during the past two weeks, and that the road construction and water system work on Bering Street is proceeding well.
The Nome Common Council will convene for its next regular meeting on July 26th.
Image at top: Gavel sitting on table at the Nome City Council room. (Photo by Brisa Alarcon, KNOM).
